


Mukhy Gun

by AllegoriesInMediasRes



Series: Ramayana fics [11]
Category: Ramayana - Valmiki
Genre: Cardinal Virtues Meme, Gen, Originally Posted on Tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-06
Updated: 2018-10-06
Packaged: 2019-07-27 08:44:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16215539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllegoriesInMediasRes/pseuds/AllegoriesInMediasRes
Summary: Ruma, wife of Sugriva, for the Cardinal Virtues meme.Title means “cardinal virtues”.





	Mukhy Gun

**Prudence**

fools rush in | **a stitch in time** | hard times for dreamers | tact ( or lack thereof) | silence is the most powerful scream | foresight/telepathy/psychic AU

“Your footwork is wrong,” Ruma says to her nephew severely as she oversees his dancing practice.

“The right foot forward instead of the left is a small enough mistake,” the Crown Prince of Kishkindha drawls, “that I highly doubt I will disgrace my clan by it.”

“And yet if you noticed a flaw in your archery stance, or how you wield your sword, you would correct it at once before you repeat it and it becomes habit, would you not?”

“But dancing is so _complicated!_ ” Angad bursts out. “How could I possibly master it when the instructor comes by only for half an hour every week?”

“Then I can help you,” Ruma says simply. Angad smiles readily at this offer, and she marvels at how easily he fits under her heart, and that she ever despaired of being barren.

**Temperance**

a secret indulgence | in vino veritas | hold the reins | **the mark of a child** | a virtue in those who can afford it | crossover*

Her _syali_ Tara wears the mantle of queenship so well that Ruma feels like a child next to her. She tries to be just as wise and kind, but for all her efforts, her insights never seem to be as incisive, her charity never as well-received by the populace. Tara assures her that time will hone her capability, while Sugriva boldly lies and says that she is the finest queen to ever grace Kishkindha. But it’s Vali who brings her the most comfort, by saying that she serves the vanara kingdom with whatever gifts she already possesses, and that is enough for anyone.

**Courage**

no sin greater than inaction | mastery of fear, not absence of fear | dulce et decorum est | faint heart never won fair lady | the last laugh laughs best | **fairy tale/myth AU**

There once was a maiden fair, with the body of a monkey but the grace of a dancer, who lived in a fine castle with a husband who loved her. But a cruel king took the castle by storm and exiled her lord from the land and locked the lady up in the highest tower. There the maiden wept bitter tears in what had once been her home, for by a twist of fate, her jailer looked just like her husband, and now even her happy memories were tarnished. Her tears fell from her window, to the ground where a briar sprouted in soil where nothing had grown for years. Though she could not see it, on the briar bloomed roses as bright and red as any that were ever seen, and though she could not know it, out of them would be strung the garland that would bring her back to her husband.

**Justice**

what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander | **laws are spider webs** | judge jury and executioner | each man makes his own prison | two sides to every story | noir/detective AU

There are those who whisper in the months following Sugriva’s reinstatement that he is a murderer and a usurper, especially when preparations for the wall take its toll on the populace. _He was the elder brother and the rightful king_ , the naysayers sneer. _Who had very good reason to suspect his younger brother of a plot and exile him_. _Which is where you come in, O Younger Queen. But for your imprisonment and your plight, Lord Ram would have had no reason to interfere in the affairs of another country_. _So truly, your dishonor was what brought about the great alliance_.

Ruma rages, of course. She seeks out every scholar, every man of the law she can meet and is shocked when every single one of them confirms the whispers. Dharma is an incomprehensible mantle, and in the end it only drives Ruma deeper into her cups.


End file.
